More dandy than candy

Those cravings for candy can be hard to ignore — here are some healthier options

Leigh Hornbec, Times Union

By Leigh Hornbeck

Updated 6:54 am, Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Healthier options for those candy cravings. (Photos by Skip Dickstein / Times Union)

Healthier options for those candy cravings. (Photos by Skip...

1. Instead of peanut butter cups, make yourself a treat of two tablespoons of chunky peanut butter sandwiched between two pieces of dark (60 percent cacao) Ghirardelli chocolate. You will be getting more calories (298) but far less sugar (7.7 grams). This snack has 7.4 grams of saturated fat though, just so you know you're not eating carrots. (Skip Dickstein / Times Union)

1. Instead of peanut butter cups, make yourself a treat of two...

2. Instead of Twizzlers...(Skip Dickstein / Times Union)

2. Instead of Twizzlers...(Skip Dickstein / Times Union)

...have a cup of strawberries. Fresh and delicious, strawberries have 49 calories, 2 milligrams of sodium and 7 grams of sugar. Twizzlers, in addition to being barely discernible from plastic, have 75 calories in three twists, six grams of sugar and 32 milligrams of sodium.(Fotolia)

...have a cup of strawberries. Fresh and delicious,...

3. Instead of tossing back handfuls of corn syrup and chemicals in the form of candy corn, have a serving of frozen Greek yogurt. One of our favorites, Ben and Jerry's Vanilla Honey Caramel, has 190 calories in a half cup, 5 grams of fat (2 grams saturated fat) and 22 grams of sugar. And the first two ingredients are skim milk and Greek yogurt, not sugar. (Skip Dickstein / Times Union)

3. Instead of tossing back handfuls of corn syrup and chemicals in...

4. Put down the Nestle Crunch mini bar and make your family a pan of Rice Krispie treat bars. If you don't have time for that, they are sold ready-made. A serving of Nestle Crunch mini bars (three bars, 38 grams) has 200 calories, 10 grams of fat, 6 grams of saturated fat and 21 grams of sugar. One 22-gram Rice Krispie square has 90 calories, two grams of fat and 8 grams of sugar. Want chocolate? Melt some Ghirardelli, drizzle and voila! (Skip Dickstein / Times Union)

4. Put down the Nestle Crunch mini bar and make your family a pan...

5. Snickers satisfies? So do nuts, with much less guilt. Four Snickers minis have 170 calories, 8 grams of fat, including 3 grams of saturated fat, 18 grams of sugar and 3 grams of protein. A serving (3 tablespoons) of Second Nature's Sensible Medley — soy nuts covered in dark chocolate, almonds, peanuts, cashews and pistachio kernels — has a higher fat content (13 grams) but less of it comes from saturated fat (2.5 grams). It also packs only 3 grams of sugar while delivering 6 grams of protein and a third less sodium (80 milligrams vs. 65 milligrams). (Skip Dickstein / Times Union)

Stop raiding the Halloween stash! Normally we listen to our better judgment and pass by the candy aisle and its array of candy bagged in come-hither colors. But when Halloween draws near, we fill our shopping baskets with bags of delicious mini candy bars, peanut butter cups, Tootsie rolls, Twizzlers and Starbursts. It's for the kids, after all. The stuff sits in our cupboards, singing a siren song. The next thing you know, you're headed back to the store to restock your candy supply before the kids show up. Cue Debbie Downer: One harmless looking Butterfinger contains 100 calories and 4 grams of fat. A serving of mini Reese's peanut butter cups (five pieces) contains 23 grams of sugar and 220 calories, 110 of them from fat. Here are a few options to keep handy in your kitchen that will satisfy your craving and keep you from hiding in the bathroom so the kids don't see you with the pilfered sweets.

1. Instead of peanut butter cups, make yourself a treat of two tablespoons of chunky peanut butter sandwiched between two pieces of dark (60 percent cacao) Ghirardelli chocolate. You will be getting more calories (298) but far less sugar (7.7 grams). This snack has 7.4 grams of saturated fat though, just so you know you're not eating carrots.

2. Instead of Twizzlers, have a cup of strawberries. Fresh and delicious, strawberries have 49 calories, 2 milligrams of sodium and 7 grams of sugar. Twizzlers, in addition to being barely discernible from plastic, have 75 calories in three twists, six grams of sugar and 32 milligrams of sodium.

3. Instead of tossing back handfuls of corn syrup and chemicals in the form of candy corn, have a serving of frozen Greek yogurt. One of our favorites, Ben and Jerry's Vanilla Honey Caramel,

has 190 calories in a half cup, 5 grams of fat (2 grams saturated fat) and 22 grams of sugar. And the first two ingredients are skim milk and Greek yogurt, not sugar and corn syrup.

4. Put down the Nestle Crunch mini bar and make your family a pan of Rice Krispie treat bars. If you don't have time for that, they are sold ready-made. A serving of Nestle Crunch mini bars (three bars, 38 grams) has 200 calories, 10 grams of fat, 6 grams of saturated fat and 21 grams of sugar. One 22-gram Rice Krispie square has 90 calories, two grams of fat and 8 grams of sugar. Want chocolate? Melt some Ghirardelli, drizzle and voila!

5. Snickers satisfies? So do nuts, with much less guilt. Four Snickers minis have 170 calories, 8 grams of fat, including 3 grams of saturated fat, 18 grams of sugar and 3 grams of protein. A serving (3 tablespoons) of Second Nature's Sensible Medley — soy nuts covered in dark chocolate, almonds, peanuts, cashews and pistachio kernels — has a higher fat content (13 grams) but less of it comes from saturated fat (2.5 grams). It also packs only 3 grams of sugar while delivering 6 grams of protein and a third less sodium (80 milligrams vs. 65 milligrams).